May 7, 2012
This past weekend, the last nuclear plant in Japan was shut down. Tomari unit #3 was taken off line Saturday and is presently in cold shutdown for routine maintenance and refueling. The Japanese news media has used the moment to try and bring the issue of nuke...May 4, 2012
The end of an era, or, the onset of Japan’s economic and energy collapse On Saturday May 5, Tomari unit #3 will be shuttered for routine maintenance and inspection. When it is disconnected from the nation’s electric transmission system, there will no longer be any...May 2, 2012
Before today’s updates, I would like to recommend an excellent report on the robots of Fukushima posted by America’s Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI). There have been numerous reports out of Japan over the past year concerning the use of robots for debris removal,...April 30, 2012
The Tokyo government has set new tsunami protection standards for nukes. Formerly, the standards were based on wave height that could reasonably be anticipated. Now, the wave heights include those that would be considered rare, but not impossible. The “reasonable”...April 27, 2012
Thursday was the 26th anniversary of the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl in the Ukraine. Last year, the Japanese press was loaded with Chernobyl articles on this date, but this year there has been very little coverage. In fact, only NHK World has run anything about it,...April 25, 2012
Whether or not to restart idled nukes is a major news story. Here’s what’s going on… Seishu Makino, senior vice minister of the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry, visited Shiga Gov. Yukiko Kada on Monday. He is trying to gain her support for restarting Oi units #3...April 23, 2012
Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency has a 2000 page document covering all nuclear crisis meetings between March 13 and October, 2011. NISA has come under severe criticism because no minutes were kept during crucial emergency meetings held the first few days of the...April 20, 2012
F. Daiichi unit #2 robot inspection – one answer and two new questions The Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) has used a new robot to inspect inside the Primary Containment Vessel’s (PCV) torus room of unit #2 at Fukushima Daiichi. The torus is a gigantic,...April 18, 2012
TEPCO workers are preparing for the removal and storage of spent fuel from unit #4 at Fukushima Daiichi. First, a large special crane will be built in order to remove the spent fuel bundles. Next, a ~10,000 cubic meter enclosure will surround the upper reactor...This site requires a lot of work. We hope you find our efforts valuable and rewarding. Please consider offering your support. There is no minimum amount. Feel free to donate as you see fit, without restriction. Thank you...
